Cover story: Local farmer spreads benefits of cover crops

Jeremy Gustafson's farmland was quite erodible and soil quality wasn't anything amazing. When it rained, the water would just hit the ground and then runoff.

Jeremy Gustafson’s farmland was quite erodible and soil quality wasn’t anything amazing. When it rained, the water would just hit the ground and then runoff.

So about six years ago, Gustafson began using cover crops.

In Iowa, a cover crop is a crop planted in the fall, usually at the end of the growing season or harvest, to protect and enrich the soil.

Gustafson, of Boone and a farmer since 1995, said most kinds of grass will work as a cover crop, but cereal rye and oats are the most common. Cereal rye is the current top choice in Iowa.

Radishes are also a good choice because they will scatter nutrients, he said.

Gustafson got started with help from the the Natural Resources Conservation Service and has been working closely with Practical Farmers of Iowa to use cover crops.

Last year, he was awarded the Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Award by Gov. Terry Branstad and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey.

Gustafson said cover crops are more about the long-term benefits.

“You’re watching your soil become more active and a better quality,” he said. “It gets better with time. If you go out and scoop a shovel and crumble it, it’s more like coffee grounds — not compact or chunky. It’s a granular soil.

Gustafson has seen a six- to seven-bushel increase in corn yields on his farm.

The cover crops also help deal with the root systems left by the harvested crops. Corn roots can go down up to 30 inches.

Gustafson uses chemicals to kill the cover crops before he plants in the spring, but livestock can also eat most of the crops.

“We have neighbors who have cattle, and those cattle can eat that rye,” he said. “It’s a feed source, and you don’t have to use as much herbicide to kill it later on. Given the high price of hay, it’s an added benefit to have another source.”

Gustafson said there will be some field day demonstrations for farmers this year, so they can learn about cover crops themselves.

“Getting people to try it is a hurdle,” he said. “Time is big factor. Not many people want to plant at the same time as harvest, but once they’ve tried a small acre, it sells itself. No special equipment needed.”

Gustafson said there are a few things to be cautious about when growing cover crops, such as not allowing the cereal rye to get too big, and not planting spring crops too soon.

When he first researched and started planting cover crops, he said he was surprised how little information there was, and how few places there are to talk about them. There isn’t a good network yet for farmers to tap for information, he said.

Gustafson is still optimistic about the future of cover crop use in Iowa.

“It’s a bright future ahead,” he said. “Cover crops hold nutrients and water. It’s such a benefit to the land.”

What Gustafson is doing is not only for his farmland, but also for the watershed that provides water to Ames.

“What I’m trying to do here is benefiting the city of Ames,” he said. “My farm is by Onion Creek, which eventually makes it way to Ames. Anything I can do here is helping down the line.”

Gustafson said there are buffers around the creeks on his farm to prevent runoff, but cover crops also act as buffers for the entire field.

Using cover crops helps preserve the land, he said.

“I want to leave the farmland in better shape for the next generation,” he said. “I think we lose sight of that in the corporate farming world. We have to look after the land, and that’s why I’m very happy how cover crops work into that for us.”